


An Outlaw King

by LePresident_Miaou



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec is so cool, Archery, Gift for Salomé, Happy B-day to my Parabatai, Happy Birthday Salomé, I love Salomé so freaking much, Love, M/M, Magnus is breaking your hearts, Major Character Injury, Malec, Malec Fluff, Minor Character Death, Murder, Please give love to Alec, RobinHood!Malec!AU, Royalty, Sad story to be happy, Some smutt later, Violence, Youth romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-11-05 18:00:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11018646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LePresident_Miaou/pseuds/LePresident_Miaou
Summary: It has been ten years now that Alexander Lightwood, the most wanted Outlaw of the Kingdoms, had been banished from the realm of Idris with his siblings after the brutal murder of his father by Asmodeus. So when the occasion of capturing the man that had turned his life into a survival game arrives, he doesn't even think about it, and run into the trap and meet an unexpected old friend...This summary sucks, but it's a Robon Hood!Malec AU :')





	An Outlaw King

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Leila_BlackLightwood](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leila_BlackLightwood/gifts).



> This is my very first birthday gift ff, and I'm the lamest of all, so this was supposed to be a one shot, but I didn't had time to finishe everything, so here's part 1/3 :')
> 
> I wish a very happy birthday to one of the person that means to most to me in this fandom, which is my Parabatai, Salomé, she's my ray of sunshine when I feel low, she makes me laugh, sometimes she makes me cry because she's just being herself: the most adorable and lovable human being on earth. She is kind, lovely and she always care about me and I love her so much.
> 
> She's there when I need someone to listen to me complaining, she's here when I need to laugh, she's here when I need to fangirl, for me, I know she's there all the time.
> 
> So I hope this will make you happy as much as you make me happy ! 
> 
> Happy Birthday Salomé ! <333
> 
> Ps: Thank you a hundred time to my beta Fouzhy, who took the time to correct my mistakes in a record time, would have never been able to post it today without her :') <33

His arrow  whistled and split the air before lodging itself in one of the guards’ chest, who fell from his steed, growling in pain for a second before lying dead on the wood, his blood tainting the ground, sprinkled with autumn leaves. Four guards met their end already and only two others were still standing, swords in hands, searching for the hooded archer. 

 

“Show yourself, coward!” One of the guards shouted, and oh, this wasn’t the thing to say.

 

Jumping from the branch he was standing on a few second ago, the young archer landed on the ground gracefully, standing a few feet away from the guards. He raised his head, a mischievous smile hidden by his hood, the two guards swooped towards him unconsciously, regarding the fact that the archer wasn’t only a good shooter with his arrows, he was also excellent in melees. With a swift movement, he pulled his sword out of his scabbard and parried the sword he could have received right in the neck. The guard grumbled some cuss, before he disengaged himself to strike a new powerful blow around the ankles. The archer leaped to throw his foot right in the guard’s jaw, disconcerting him for a brief instant, availing the moment to strike the other guard, who was now rushing towards him with his sword, right in the stomach. He fell down, pressing a hand to his wound, and tried to crawl to his horse.

 

“You’re going to pay for that, Wood!” The first guard yelled, holding his jaw and helping his fellow to get back on his horse. 

 

“Actually,” the young thief said, holding the guards’ purse in his hand, “You’re the one paying me right now, getting scrapped. Isn’t it wry?” He smirked.

 

“Laugh as much as you can. One day, we’ll get your head on a spike. And trust me, I’ll erase that cocky smirk off your face,” the man said with a despicable glance towards the archer.

 

Before he took his hood off, the young man scoffed, revealing his face to the guards. He had messy dark hair, slightly falling on his forehead, sparkling hazel eyes which were the only thing that betrayed his young age; he was definitely in his early twenties. He was wearing dark brown pants with boots of the same color, a dark green shirt with long sleeves and a dark grey cloak, which fell down to his lower back. Of course he had his long black bow in his hand and a quiver full of arrows proudly hung behind his back.

 

“Poor, poor, poor Sheriff Morgenstern. And I thought you were the most clever of them all.” He laughed innocently before getting an arrow out of his quiver and began to play with it.

 

“King Asmodeus will know about this treason to the crown,” the Sheriff hissed.

 

Before he could move, an arrow brushed his cheek, leaving a small scratch, barely bleeding, but the Sheriff touched his cheek like it was a mechanical movement and grinned. 

 

“One day, Wood, I promise that one day, I’ll have your head enthroned in my room at the castle. You, and all your fellow outlaws, I will make you pay,” he said, finally riding on his horse.

 

“If someone needs to pay for something here, it’s you, and Asmodeus.” The archer spat before bending a new arrow, aiming for the Sheriff’s head this time. 

 

“Farewell, lad. We’ll see each other soon enough,” he said before giving his horse a knock in the flanks, and the horse began to race, leaving all the corpses behind him. The Sheriff soon disappeared.

 

Before he could put his arrow back in his quiver, he could heard the trot of a horse behind him, so quickly he bowed a new arrow, aiming for the person coming behind him, but stopped abruptly when he realized he knew the face of his visitor. 

 

“Alec!” The man on the horse yelled at the archer, before he jumped from his steed. “Are you alright? What-” The blond boy stopped to look at the mess around Alec, and gave him an unimpressed glance.

 

The boy had golden hair and began to scratch his three days old beard, looking at the four dead soldiers at Alec’s feet. His eyes were clear blue, but when you gave a closer look you could see he had a brown stain in his right eye. He was tall, but not as tall as Alec and he was wearing similar clothes,  dark brown pants with black boots and a black shirt with long sleeves and a cloak. 

 

“You’re wounded,” the blonde boy said, pointing at Alec’s arm. 

 

A small net of blood was tainting his cloak, which was a bit torn around his shoulder, it must have happened when the guards first arrived, before he could climb on that tree.

 

“I’m fine, Jace.” Alec sighed, before heading towards the guards recumbent on the ground. He bent down to check their pulse, but they were all dead. “Damn it,” he grunted before looking for their purses. 

 

“You did great today. And all on your own,” Jace said, impressed. “But you should have waited for me, we probably would have had the chance to get one of them alive.” And Jace made sure to empathise on the “alive” part of his sentence. Alec raised an eyebrow, clearly annoyed by his fellow’s comment.

 

“Well, maybe if you had come sooner, that could have been possible, but since it took you forever, I didn’t have much of a choice there.” Alec shrugged, collecting all the purses to place them in his bag. “Well, at least we got enough for weeks with that,” he said with a grin, throwing a purse full of gold coins to Jace. 

 

“Not bad, but that’s not how we’ll get answers, Alec.” Jace sighed. “I hope Izzy will come back with some useful information this time.” 

 

Alec sighed too, thinking about the time when he didn’t have to kill and steal for a living, when he was still living in the castle with his parents, but that was King Raziel’s time and now he was living in the Idris forest, trying not to get killed by the Sheriff’s men and stealing from the rich, to help the people in need. It had been ten years now, when King Raziel left for the Crusades, and Asmodeus, the King’s brother claimed the throne and murdered the Regent who was in charge of the Kingdom until Raziel would return, but he never did and nobody knew where he could be right now. After the Regent’s death, Alec and his siblings were chased from the castle and reduced to live like renegades in the woods, but fortunately they met other refugees fleeing from Asmodeus and the Sheriff’s wrath. 

 

Alec sighed, thinking about those old times, where his life was still calm and his path was traced from the start. His father told him every day,  _ “You, my son, will have an honorable life, you’ll fight for our Kingdom as a knight, and soon you’ll become one, I am sure. You’ll serve the king and marry someone you love, like I did with your mother.”   _ He remembered his father’s words clearly, the words his father said to him even on the night he got murdered.

 

_ “Father?” _

 

He remembered entering his father’s room, and then, the nightmare began. He remembered the golden curtains tinted in red, the white sheets smudged with his father’s blood. He recalled entering his father’s room, immediately noticing something was wrong. That’s when he saw a hooded man, standing right behind his father,kneeling on the floor, having his throat sliced. And what he knew was that, the next moment, he was lying next to the bed, his father in his arms, a knife planted in his back, next to the heart. The murderers had missed his heart so his father must have fought back. He knew that, he knew his father hadn’t died without struggling against his opponent.  

 

“Alec?” Jace asked when he saw that look on Alec’s face. He was as white as a sheet.

 

“Sorry. I must have thought for too long. We should head back to the camp. Maybe Isabelle is back from the city.” Alec whistled for a brief moment before a black stallion came out from the backside of the forest, and when he stood next to Alec, the young archer smiled and gave him a block of sugar he had in his pocket. “Hey you,” Alec said stroking his mane, before grabbing on the horse’s neck with one hand, and in a swift movement, he grabbed the aim of his saddle to end up, a moment later, racing toward the heart of the forest. 

 

Jace quickly came to his side, a cocky smile on his face and Alec understood quite quickly what his friend wanted, so he grinned back before yelling, “Yah!” to his steed. Hearing Jace doing the same, he grabbed on his horse’s mane and simply let the adrenaline take over.

 

They reached the camp in a few minutes, and their excitement didn’t fade for a bit, when they came back, they found out Izzy had returned from the enclosure of Idris’s castle. She was the only one who could enter the walls as she had an informant that would let her in, and even though Alec and Jace didn’t approve of Izzy being so close with Meliorn, one of the King’s guards, it was easier to get important information from him.

 

“Brothers!” Izzy winked at them when they get down from their horses. She was a beautiful young woman with long dark hair and naturally red lips, she was the most stunning person the kingdom have known for years. She deserved all the wonders from the world and here she was, living in the woods like a unsophisticated commoner. The thought of seeing her in raggedy clothes made Alec clench his fists. One day, he had sworn on his parents’ grave, they would take back the Idris Castle, claiming their belonging to the Kingdom and dethrone Asmodeus from his comforting pedestal, and send him where he really belonged, in the Castle’s dungeon. 

 

“Do you have any good news for us, Izzy?” Jace asked as he jumped off his steed. 

 

“I do.” Izzy smiled wildly before getting closer to her brothers. “Here’s the information I managed to obtain. Tomorrow morning, the King is crossing the forest in a royal carriage, disguised as a tradesman to get to Alicante to meet and sign some accords with the Edom Kingdom. Meliorn couldn’t tell me more,” Izzy explained.

 

Alicante was the biggest realm of all; it was in the center of the lands, and all major decisions would be taken with King Jonathan Shadowhunter, who had been governing for several years now, always fighting for peace and harmony. 

 

“Why would he need to sign anything with Edom?” Jace frowned at the revelation.

 

Alec was thinking about it. Edom was a large kingdom near Alicante but there was nothing good there, all the land was the territory or an ancient battlefield, a doomed place where nothing would grow and people were mainly touched by the plague or other immedicable diseases. It was a poor kingdom with no king and no hope, but more precisely, it’s where they would imprison the most dangerous criminal in all the realms. It’s where they would have been taken if they hadn’t escaped from the Castle. Alec began to envision about why they would enter into a pact with Edom, when there was nothing there but the plague and the scraps of the old Edom Kingdom, nothing but bloodthirsty criminals and warriors. Alec stopped in his reflection.  _ Of course. _

 

“War,” Alec muttered. 

 

Jace and Isabelle both looked at Alec with dreadful glances. 

 

“They want to declare war,” Alec stated.

 

“But on whom?” Jace inquired. “This is ridiculous. Why would Asmodeus want to declare war on Idris? He’s the King.”

 

“I never said he would declare war on Idris.” Alec shook his head. “Do you remember Asmodeus’s son?” 

 

“Magnus?” Izzy asked before she smirked. “He was your first kiss.” 

 

“What?” Jace exclaimed. “I didn’t know.” 

 

“Izzy!” Alec shouted, even though she was right, it was a long time ago, and Alec doubted Magnus would even remember him. “This isn’t the moment to discuss this, it was a long time ago. But think about it, if Asmodeus signs the accords with Alicante, I mean we can consider this option, but if Magnus is leading them, on Edom’s throne, controlled by his father, they could create an army.”

 

“Magnus wouldn’t do that, Alec. You remember how he was, when we were kids he-” Izzy started but Alec cut her off.

 

“Maybe he changed. That’s what people do, Izzy,” Alec spat. 

 

He wouldn’t be mad at Magnus if he had changed. He was mad at himself, for the person he once had been, the person he wish he was, but this was just utopia. He would never be the person Magnus wanted him to be.

 

_ “One day, you’ll be a King too, Alexander, and when that day will arrive, I have hope I will be standing next to you.”  _

 

_ Alexander. _ It had been such a long time since that name had crossed his mind, because there were only two people he would ever allow to call him like that, his father, and Asmodeus’s son, Magnus. He had met Magnus so long ago, but he only remembered the last sentence Magnus had said, before Alec had leaned in to kiss him softly; before that night, when Alec’s life had changed for the worse.

 

“Anyway, with Magnus ruling in Edom, Asmodeus has enough soldiers, and you seem to forget that after the Uprising, the Seelie realm joined him after the King left and- and if that war was to happen, we would all be doomed,” Alec said. “We have to stop the carriage.”

 

Jace and Isabelle both glanced toward Alec with wide eyes, before they looked at each other smiled and they turn back to Alec with the same smile. The young archer sighed seeing he could obviously count on his siblings to help him in this.

 

“And what’s your plan, if we may ask, since it’s probably going to get us killed?” Jace ironised.

 

“It is simple.” Alec sat on a huge log before he pulled a map out of his inside pocket. “The carriage doesn’t have much of a choice to get through the forest. If they want to avoid the swamps around Edom, they have to take the main road,” Alec explained, pointing at the road and then following the path with his finger, tracing the carriage’s route. “My plan is, they’ll probably know we have the information so what they could do is, cut by that path. Izzy, you’ll keep an eye on the main road with Raj. If you see them, just use the signal and we will be there in no time. Jace and I, we’ll watch that road. They should be-” Alec made a pause to think about it. He scratched the back of his neck and sighed. “I don’t know, there could be four of them, regular guards, maybe someone in the carriage with Asmodeus, and the groom would probably be a guard.” Alec inhaled deeply.

 

“Listen, I know this could be considered as treason against the crown, and I would understand if either of you wouldn’t-” Alec didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence. 

 

“We’re with you. Because that’s what we do, we stick together, we’re Ligh-” Isabelle started but Alec raised his hand to make her stop.

 

“Don’t speak that name. It belongs to the past,” Alec muttered, turning away from them, heading to his wooden shelter.

 

“How long are you still going to ignore who you are, Alec?” Izzy shouted in his back, and Alec stopped for a moment, his teeth and fists clenched.

 

“I’m not, Izzy,” Alec answered, but he wouldn’t turn around to face her. “That person died a long time ago.” He marginally touched the golden ring he wore on his left hand, the memory of someone he used to be, of someone he used to love. “He died in a room, that night with our father, ten years ago,” he simply said, heading to his room.

 

“Then he would be dead in vain. What would he say, seeing you like this, denying your name and you honor? Do you really think that’s what he wanted, Alec?” 

 

“The dead don’t want anything, Izzy. We’ll prepare tomorrow morning. Be here at sunrise.” Alec gave a quick glance back to see Izzy’s face, haggard with anger and sorrow.

 

“I’m sorry, father,” Alec admitted, kneeling in front of the family portrait he had in his room. “I’m sorry, but I can’t be that man. I know I promised I would do everything that’s in my power to reconquer our land and our honor, but-”

 

_ “Remember, Alexander, the honor is not in the name, it’s in the deed.”  _ His father’s voice echoed in his head and, he collapsed on his bed, tossing and turning until he finally fell into slumber. 

 

Alec woke up to the sound of the birds singing, which meant the sun was rising in the horizon, so he stood up and opened a small window to let some of the light get in, before he put on his dark beige pants and a dark green shirt with his cloak. He fixed his belt around his waist before grabbing a dagger and his bow as he went out of his cabin. Jace and Isabelle were already waiting for him by the extinguished fire. 

 

“Are we ready to go?” Alec asked scratching his bed hair. Trying to straighten, he gave a quick glance to Jace and Izzy, both had perfect hair and he began to wonder what their secret was. He cleared his throat, shaking off his thoughts. 

 

“We’re just waiting for Raj, he’s grabbing our horses and his sword,” Jace said, yawning.

 

As soon as Raj appeared with their steeds, Alec jumped on Arrow with a swift movement, followed by Izzy, Jace and Raj. When they got closer to the edge of the forest, they took two differents paths, just like Alec had explained the night before. They had to watch all possible ways leading to Edom. 

 

Jace and Alec quickly joined the secret road to the realm while Isabelle and Raj went for the main road, even though Alec was a hundred percent sure they wouldn’t risk that one, they couldn’t just peril their mission and miss the opportunity of capturing Asmodeus alive. Or at least, alive for now, because Alec would be the one to slice his throat for what he had done to his father. 

 

They got off their horses about a mile away from their target point and left the horses there. They knew if they whistled to call  Arrow and Rune, they would be there in record time, so they walked toward the edge of the road, and both climbed up to the top of the trees. 

 

Alec could clearly see the castle from there. When they had first established their camp in the forest, Alec had done this a million times, climbing the tallest trees of the forest so he would be able to, even for a second, admire the castle he wished he had grew up in, and just for a brief moment, he would close his eyes and imagine he had never left, that he was still there, with his father, and that one day, the King would return. But over the years, he ended up losing all faith and all his hopes began to die, just as the memories of the person he used to be. 

 

“In sight!” Jace said, pointing at the road. “About seven miles away, I’d say.” 

 

“Twelve,” Alec retorted. He knew the woods like no one else would ever know them, so he knew exactly how far they were. 

 

“All right, twelve. Are you ready?” Jace asked with a smirk.

 

“Really, Jace?” Alec scoffed. “I’ve never been more ready in my whole life.” Alec smiled before putting on his hood. 

 

He gestured to Jace to watch out for the guards, and eventually take care of them while he would go into the carriage. Of course he was taking a huge risk, not knowing how many guards the carriage could contain, but they couldn’t miss that chance, and even if he had to die today, he would take Asmodeus to hell with him. 

 

The carriage was being escorted by four guards, and Alec smirked.  _ “Easy targets,”  _ he thought, before bowing an arrow.

 

Once they were in close sight, he shot his first arrow, piercing the heart of the first guard. When they saw the soldier falling to the ground, one of the guard shouted, “It’s a trap! Protect his Highness!” But it was already too late as an arrow went through his throat and the man fell from his horse as well. 

 

Jace was the first to jump out of the trees, aiming for the groom, driving the carriage, and probably out of luck, he landed just behind him, an easy way to slice his throat, but Jace wasn’t the kind of man wasting his time with unnecessary killing, so as he realized the groom wasn’t a guard, meaning he probably was a simple villager, he just threw him off the seat and took the ropes to drive the carriage. When the other two guards came to his side, Alec who had jumped right after he killed the second guard, landed on the carriage’s roof. Standing on it, with all the stability he could manage, he shot another arrow that lodged itself in the third guard’s throat, which meant there was only one more guard to slaughter, before he could get into the carriage. But when he aimed for the last one, the man disappeared into the forest, leaving the carriage to Alec’s will.

 

“Coward,” Alec spat when he saw the man heading back to the castle. He quickly came back to himself and shrugged before grabbing on the edge of the roof to throw himself through the window and landed in front of a hooded man who was alone in the carriage.

 

_ Asmodeus. _

 

He furiously jumped on him, ignoring the screams he was making as Alec made his way behind the man, grabbing on his wrists to keep him still, hands stuck behind his back.

 

“Get off of me!” the man said, still struggling, until Alec placed his dagger at his throat, keeping him still and silent from that moment on, before removing his hood.

 

It wasn’t the King, they had been fooled, but when he was about to slice the surrogate’s throat, Alec brought his movement to a halt as the memories of the past came back. It wasn’t the King but Alec almost released his grip, his prisoner trying to escape before he came back to himself and tightened his hold on the man’s hands.

 

How could he ever forget the soft caramel-colored skin he loved to touch when they were younger, the hair he used to run his hands in, the lips he had dared to kiss only once before they were separated by this cruel destiny, and now, here they were, ten years later, standing in this royal carriage, as if time had stopped, and there was just Magnus and Alexander. 

 

“Magnus?” Alec said with a relieved smile. But when Magnus answered, his whole world crumbled down around him. Of course, it was supposed to be like that. 

 

“It’s your Highness, and I don’t think we’ve ever been formally introduced, so at least, have some manners when you address a royalty, thief!” 

 

Magnus was only showing disgust and repulsion towards him. Well, who was he to think it would be any different, he was a thief after all. He couldn’t help but scoff, because everything was so clear now. Of course, Alec was different from the boy he once was back then; his hair had grown. He also had facial hair now, and he no longer had this innocent look on his face, the one Magnus used to laugh at sometimes, the look he only had when he was with him, when they used to read together for hours at the entrance of the forest. All of this was part of the past Alec should never had hold onto, because this was only painful memories of a robbed life.

 

“Well, your Highness,” Alec said with a quick faked bow. “Let me at least wish you a goodnight.” 

 

Magnus looked at him with a clear lack of understanding before Alec knocked him off with the back of his dagger. 

 

Jace stopped the carriage at the edge of the road, nearby the end of the forest, where a dark a dreary path that would lead the travelers to the swamps surrounding the realm of Edom, many brave men or women had already drawn into the oozed water.

 

Alec sighed, taken aback by the situation he was finding himself in now. This was Magnus, there was no doubt about it but why? Why would Asmodeus send his precious son to Edom, alone, and clearly unguarded.

 

“You caught him!” Jace said with a triumphal laugh as he climbed down the carriage. “Wait, what’s with that face?” He asked, seeing Alec exiting the coach, carrying a body on his shoulder. “Damn it, Alec, did you kill him already? I thought we would at least savour the revenge.” Jace sighed, shaking his head. 

 

“It’s not Asmodeus,” Alec scoffed ironically, consumed by anger. “We’ve been fooled.”

 

“By Raziel, I knew there was something wrong with those guards, they were just a lure! And we fell right into Asmodeus’s trap,” Jace grumbled, visibly annoyed by the result of their assailment. He sighed and booted a tree root that was there, almost tripping on it.

 

Alec scoffed before he whistled loudly, calling for the horses to come back. 

 

“What are we going to do with him? He’s no use to us, we should just leave him in the swamps,” Jace suggested before Alec raised an eyebrow, disapproving of Jace’s idea.

 

“Oh, we won’t do that. We’re taking him back with us to the camp,” Alec said firmly, recognizing their mounts coming back from behind the high trees of the forest. 

 

“Why not? Could be fun,” Jace retorted. “Or, suspend him by the toe from a tree. We’ve never tried that,” Jace proposed, amused, while he was grabbing the ropes of Rune’s harness, waiting for Alec to make a move. 

 

“We won’t do that  _ either _ ,” Alec insisted so Jace could understand it was feasible they wouldn’t harm the new prisoner. “We’re taking him with us, and when he’s awake, I’ll question him.” 

 

Jace raised an eyebrow before scratching the back of his neck, after Alec had placed the prisoner on his horse and jumped on it. He did the same, but before they were about to leave, he led his mount to Alec’s side. 

 

“You know he probably won’t remember you, right?” Jace inquired, seeing Alec’s face turning as white as a sheet.

 

“You knew? So why didn’t you-” Alec started.

 

“I never liked him much. You were spending too much time with him, reading near the entrance of the forest, while I was practicing archery or sword fight with Father. Of course I would remember that little bastard’s face,” Jace ironized before leading the way to the camp. 

That was true. While heading to the camp, Alec remembered the times when they were still living in the castle. All those times Magnus had sneaked into his room so they could skip the fighting lessons to the hours of them reading by the river, or against the gigantic tree that was near the forest.

 

_ “Alexander, you might find this funny but- Why don’t we run away, just the two of us? Somewhere I wouldn’t have to learn politics and where you wouldn’t have to become a soldier. What if there was a place where, you and I, could be like this, every single day of our lives, reading together? I would like to be somewhere I wouldn’t have to be afraid of holding your hand. Please.”  _

 

Alec didn’t know why everything seemed oddly coordinated now, how Magnus had told him that the day Alec’s father was murdered. All those years he had thought about it without being able to make the connection, to realize the truth. What if Magnus knew about everything, before it even happened. Alec quickly erased this idea from his head as they arrived at the camp, finding Raj and Isabelle waiting for them, nearby the huge oak that was standing just before their camp.

 

Alec got off of his horse first, not even waiting for Arrow to stop his run. Still the stallion knew his master by heart, so as soon as Alec was on the ground, he turned back to trot towards him, so Alec could carry his prisoner, who was still unconscious on the horse’s back.

 

“You caught him?” Isabelle inquired, holding her breath.

 

“No,” Jace answered as he got down from Rune. 

 

“Then who is-” Isabelle began before she realized she knew that face. “By Raziel. Is that- It’s Magnus.” A smile was sketching on her face, but Alec quickly dismissed her with a wave of his hand. 

 

“So, allow me-” Raj started, and Alec knew he would probably punch him if he’d adventure himself too far on the path of arrogance and criticism. “You mean, we’ve planned an attack against a Royal carriage which could have cost our lives-”

 

“I planned that attack,” Alec interrupted, visibly annoyed. “I also told you clearly, if I recall, that there was a risk and I was willing to go alone.”

 

“Even so. You sent us into a trap, and you have the nerves to come back with a prisoner, when you could have killed him right away? What if he can locate our camp and escape and-” Raj couldn’t finish his sentence. 

 

“Then I’ll kill him,” Alec said coldly. 

 

“That is not my point, Alec. You’re being too incautious lately, you’re so blinded by your revenge that you don’t even care about us, and you’re willing to send everyone on some dead wish mission so you can-” 

 

“Shut up, Raj!” This time Alec wasn’t restraining so he quickly grabbed on Raj’s neck, tackling him against the nearest tree. “Do you think I am willing to let anyone die at Asmodeus or Morgenstern’s hands? Why do you think I have this growing need to act alone, huh? Now I am going to say this once, if you’re too much of a coward to handle our lifestyle, then you have no place among us. We know, here, that every day could be our last. Our luck has been too thriving lately, maybe we should move the camp.” Alec was thinking outloud.

 

“You don’t think about it!” Raj said, finally out of Alec’s grip. “We’ve been living here for years now, they never found us before. Why would they now? It’s well hidden!” 

 

“The guards were too close to here yesterday, they caught Max hunting a deer and tried to take him,” Alec explained, shaking his head. “This is too dangerous, I can’t expose the camp like this. We’ll move as soon as I get information out of that one,” Alec said, pointing at the unconscious Magnus that was still lying on his horse’s back. 

 

He carefully put him on his shoulder, heading toward his shelter, ignoring Isabelle’s comment about how prisoners could use seduction to fool their enemies and escape.

 

“Don’t do anything I would regret, big brother.” Isabelle smirked, but Alec was still not paying attention, too busy carrying Magnus to, what he could call, his bedroom. 

 

Alec’s shelter wasn’t small but it wasn’t spacious either. It was a unique room, with a large, wooden makeshift bed, the mattress was made with tons of thick blankets and old sheets which made it comfortable despite its rustic look. He tied Magnus up at the bottom of his bed. Seeing he still wasn’t moving, he exhaled, running a hand in his prisoner’s hair. It hadn’t changed, it was still as soft as he recalled it. His hand quickly moved to cup Magnus’s cheek, his smooth caramel skin was the most beautiful Alec had ever seen, but then he remembered.

 

_ “I don’t think we’ve ever been formally introduced, thief!” _

 

“Thief. Right,” Alec repeated, staring at Magnus’s quiet expression. “Well, I’m sorry, but things have changed, Magnus. We’re not innocent children anymore,” Alec said as he headed toward his wooden table, where he had a pitcher and a washbasin. He poured water and took his shirt off, his torso bruised by the scars of the battles he had led against Sheriff Morgenstern and Asmodeus’s guards. He carefully washed the blood away with a washcloth and stared at his reflection in the shattered mirror he had in front of him, his hazel eyes betraying his youth. He sighed before running the washcloth on his bare torso, when he perceived movement behind him.

 

“Uh,” Magnus grumbled, still half knock off. “Wha-Where am I?” Magnus questioned, looking at Alec with a despicable glance. “Who are you?”

 

_ Of course you don’t recognize me. _

 

“One would call me by many names, your Highness. Riff raff, thief, roughneck, bandit, but I like people calling me Hood,” Alec answered sitting on a stool, crossing his legs, looking at Magnus with a faked contemptuous smile.

 

“I should have known,” Magnus chuckled, “That only you and your bandit friend would assault a Royal carriage. What do you want? Gold, jewels, maybe some-”

 

“Information,” Alec retorted. 

 

Magnus simply looked at him, astonished by his quite honest demand, before he burst into a nervous laughter, which highly annoyed Alec, and he had to keep control not to let his emotions appear. He couldn’t trust Magnus like he had trusted him in the past, because who knew what Asmodeus had told him. Alec thought about it for a brief moment. He probably had said what he had proclaimed to the people of the Kingdom, that Alexander Lightwood had run off after murdering his father and the Regent’s guards, which was a bunch of lies, but Alec and his siblings were the only ones to know, regrettably. They were the ones who had run away.

 

“Information?” Magnus was still laughing. “Oh you foolish young thief. Do you believe I was going to betray my father because you need-” Magnus suddenly stopped, turning as white as a sheet, and Alec frowned. 

 

“Where-” Magnus started, shivering and stammering. “Where did you get this ring?” He asked with insistence. 

 

_ Damn, _ Alec thought, frozen. He was still wearing it. After all those years, he had never taken it off, not once. Magnus’s ring.

 

“Does it matter to you?” Alec asked, trying to hide his fears.

 

“That is none of your business!” Magnus shouted and Alec felt his heart clenching in his chest, he could see Magnus’ knuckles turning white and that he was clenching his teeth. “Who gave you this? Oh forgive me, that was utterly wrong. Who did you stole that to?” Magnus was wriggling with anger and Alec was restraining himself from telling Magnus the truth, that how could he have forgotten he had given it to him.

 

“I don’t recall. It’s been years now,” Alec lied.

 

“Was the person’s name you took it from, Alexander?” Alec froze. 

 

_ He remembers.  _ Alec’s heart skipped a beat and he suddenly felt sick. How was he supposed to lie to Magnus like that?

 

“Alexander Lightwood,” Magnus insisted. “I-I can’t remember how he looked like, but he was just a kid.” 

 

_ Just a kid, eh, what would you think if I told you I was that kid?,  _ Alec thought before he stood up, coming closer to Magnus, which was the worst idea because he was hoping for a moment that Magnus would recognize him, but at what cost? What was he thinking of, that Magnus would forget the past ten years he had been missing without having any questions? 

 

For years, Alec and his siblings hid in the woods, pretending they were dead so Asmodeus wouldn’t track them and when he reappeared as a thief, nobody, not even the Sheriff, recognized him and he thanked the Lord for that opportunity of becoming a savage outlaw among the others.

 

“Please,” Magnus begged and Alec turned away from him. “Don’t you have any honor?”

 

“Honor?” Alec laughed. “You should ask your father about his past actions before you dare to question my honor.” 

 

“My father is a deemed and honest man, he is taking good care of our Kingdom since the Regent left for Alicante to serve the King,” Magnus exclaimed, and Alec felt his blood running cold. So that’s the story Asmodeus had come up with to cover his murder of Alec’s father. Alec scoffed, before he left the shelter, and took a quick walk towards the nearest tree. Yet before he even knew it he emptied his stomach at his roots, tears flowing down his cheek, his jaw aching from throwing up. He couldn’t tell if it was the sickness or the pain that made him cry like this. For a moment, everything was just coming back to him. 

 

The kiss he and Magnus had shared near their favorite tree before they got separated for all those years, the heartbreaking pain of seeing his own father’s throat being sliced in front of his eyes, the blood soaking the rugs, the sheets, staining his own hands when he had tried to stop the red liquid to flow but, undoubtedly, his father had already been dead. 

 

When he finally came back to himself, Jace was holding his shoulder to keep him from falling on the smeared ground.

 

“I knew this wasn’t a good idea, Alec,” Jace stated and started to wipe the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. “What happened?” 

 

“I don’t know why I fooled myself, believing he would or could be on our side,” Alec said aloud, even though he was talking to himself more than he was actually talking to Jace. “He thinks his father is a respectable man, who’s protecting the Kingdom. Who am I to take that away from him?” Alec whispered.

 

“Alec!” Jace began to shake him, still holding his shoulders. “You are Alexander Lightwood, son of the Regent, Robert Lightwood, who was brutally murdered by Asmodeus. You can’t just give up on everything we’ve worked for.”

 

Alec got sick when Jace spoke his full name. It had been years since he had it, and with Magnus in his room, he could feel his body shake, thinking about the way he had his name before. 

 

“Alec!” Isabelle came from behind, worryingly patting his back. “What happened?” 

 

Alec was still bent over his stomach, holding onto Jace, and trying not to throw up even more. He clenched his fists, and began to touched the ring he was wearing. 

 

“He remembers,” Alec whispered.

 

“Magnus?” Jace asked, astonished.

 

“You mean he remembers you? He recognized you?” Isabelle clasped a hand to her mouth, a gasp escaping at the same time.

 

“No, no, no!” Alec denied. “He- He only remembers a memory of me, a memory of the boy he gave that ring to.” Alec was fixing the golden ring, wondering what he had ever done to deserve Magnus’s affection when they were kids. 

 

He remembered shooting an arrow way too far, an arrow that had almost hit Asmodeus’s precious son, but instead had gotten stuck in the boy’s favorite book. Alec had tried to apologize for days without even being able to say a word to the older boy. Magnus had always been the most appreciated and loved person in the castle when Alec had always been quite a loner. So when he had ended up face to face with Magnus in the main corridor of the castle he had frozen, babbling some sort of excuse. Magnus, although he had been satisfied with that, had only accepted the apology on the condition of Alec becoming his reading partner. 

 

“I need to talk to him,” Alec said, barely standing on his feet. “Whether he knows something or not, I need to talk to him.”

 

“What if he doesn’t?” Jace asked the question Alec wasn’t ready for.

 

“Then he’s no use to us, and I’ll release him,” he answered calmly, knowing his siblings wouldn’t be fond of the idea.

 

“Re- What?” Jace exclaimed. “No, Alec, if he doesn’t know anything and is of no use, we kill him. He’s Asmodeus’s son for Raziel’s sake.” 

 

“He may be his son, but he’s still Magnus,” Alec pointed out, showing Jace he wasn’t going to change his mind.

 

“You’re going to get us all killed. If that is what you truly want, then so be it, but I am warning you, brother, the Magnus we’re keeping as our prisoner may have nothing to do with the Magnus you once knew,” Jace warned but Alec was already returning to his shelter, Jace’s words echoing in his head. 

 

“Well, I’m about to find out,” he whispered as he pushed the door to enter the room. 

 

Magnus was looking at him the moment he entered the shelter, as if he had kept his eyes on the door the whole time Alec had been out. He made his way toward the same stool he had been sitting on sooner and sat down, facing Magnus for the second time.

 

“Now, I am going to tell you this and I won’t repeat myself,” Alec stated calmly. “If you ever cared about Alexander Lightwood then I will tell you everything you need to know, but in return, I demand all the information you have about Asmodeus’s intentions regarding the Kingdom.”

 

“How dare you speak his name in order to obtain information from me?” Magnus spat, looking at Alec with disgust and disdain, but Alec could see Magnus’ knuckles turning white as he was clenching his fists, before he gave up.

 

“The only thing I know is that my father sent me to Edom to sign a peace accord, allowing me to be in charge of the land and its people. As one of the Kingdom’s consuls it is my duty to obey the Regent’s will,” Magnus explained and Alec could see the truth in his eyes, which broke his heart, seeing how Magnus was devoted to his father and his decisions. 

 

“And, it never appealed to you that everything your father said to you, everything that he made you believe in, was deceit?” Alec asked on his selfless tone. 

 

“What are you talking about, thief, what do you even know about my father?” Magnus wasn’t asking a question, still Alec could see the flinch in his eyes, shining with insecurity and doubt. 

 

“Many years ago, there  _ was _ an honest man living in the castle with his children. After the King left for the Crusades, he asked his best man to take charge of the Kingdom, bringing jealousy and death upon him. That man had three sons, but among them there was a little archer boy, who was filled with dreams of bravery, he was already picturing a painting of himself in the castle, slaying dragons and ogres.” Alec stopped to laugh.

 

“He had the most beautiful hazel eyes I have ever seen,” Magnus continued. “He couldn’t hold a sword, but he would excel in archery like no other knight would.”

 

“On a baneful day, around ten years ago, when the boy came back to his father’s room, he found himself in the worst situation of all. Right in front of his eyes, his father’s throat was being sliced by one of your father’s guards.” Alec stopped to look into Magnus’s eyes, filled with incomprehension. “That man they slayed, was Robert Lightwood.” 

 

“Impossible,” Magnus whispered. “Robert Lightwood left the Kingdom along with his four children for Alicante a long time ago.” Magnus was talking to himself now. “He left a letter to my father, asking him to take care of the realm while the King was away. He said-”

 

“Did he say he murdered the Regent so he could take his place and rule over the Kingdom? I have doubt, your Highness,” Alec asked, faking being surprised.

 

“It’s impossible!” Magnus denied. “My father would never do that.” But Alec could see Magnus was giving up on his beliefs. 

 

“Have you ever tried to find out what really happened to Alexander Lightwood?” Alec retorted, leaning down so he could reach Magnus’s wrists, untying the knots he had made before so Magnus’s hands were now falling down to the ground. 

 

“I sent letters and letters to Alicante for years, looking for answers. A single letter, only a word from him...but he never replied, and after years of trying, I- I gave up. I didn’t want to, but I just stopped.”

 

“You couldn’t receive anything.” Alec stopped and gulped when Magnus looked at him with expectations. “You couldn’t receive anything because the Lightwoods never moved to Alicante. Robert Lightwood was murdered in front of his own son’s eyes and the children managed to escape with the help of Hodge Starkweather, Alexander and Jace’s trainer to enter the Knights. They escaped and now they live like vagabonds in the woods, stealing from the rich to help the poor. You desperately needed to know where I got this ring from.” Alec stopped before looking into Magnus’s eyes. “The reason I have this ring is because you gave it to me, all those years ago. A ring you made the promise of being the symbol of everything we were. I have this ring, because it’s me, Magnus. I am Alexander Lightwood.” 

 

“Liar,” Magnus said, suddenly rising to his feet. Before he could see anything coming, Magnus was throwing his fist at Alec’s jaw, making him shift for a moment, before he brought his gaze right into Magnus’s watery golden eyes. 

 

“The Song of the River,” Alec said.

 

“I beg your pardon?” Magnus answered, unable to understand the meaning of Alec’s remark. 

 

“That’s the first book we read together, by the oak near the castle, the same oak I carved our initials in ten years ago, on the day I left the Kingdom.” 

 

Magnus wasn’t saying anything but Alec could distinguish the slight tremor browsing his body, so he leaned his hand to grab on Magnus’s. 

 

“You gave me that ring, ten years ago. I could not resolve myself to abandon it, because it would mean I was ready to give up on you.”

 

Magnus’s eyes were still filled with tears, which began to flow when Alec’s other hand came to cup his cheek. 

 

“Alexander?” Magnus whispered, and Alec smiled.

 

“Hello Magnus,” Alec scoffed, holding back his own tears. 

 

“Why?” Magnus asked, pushing some of Alec’s hair away from his face so he could see his hazel eyes. “Alexander.” 

 

“It’s me, Magnus. I am here,” Alec whispered, raising a hand so he could touch Magnus’s, that was resting on his cheek. “I am sorry. I am so sorry.” 

 

“I need a moment.” Magnus whispered and Alec could feel his heart beating as fast as his own heart was. “This is- This is too much for me.”

 

Magnus sat on the bed, and Alec sat next to him.

 

“You remember when we were younger,”Magnus started and Alec smiled fondly, although he didn’t even knew yet what Magnus was about to say. “I used to sneak into your room late at night, when I couldn’t sleep, and my Father would keep me studying politics all day. Those days were only seeing your face was enough to make me forget all the things that had happened before.”

 

Just like they used to do when they were younger, they lied down on Alec’s bed, facing each other. None of it was awkward, it simply felt so natural for both of them to lie there, next to the other, like they used to do so many years ago. 

 

“I knew you had a terrible day and there was no words needed.” Alec continued, his eyes closed, because he was afraid that if he dared to open then, maybe Magnus would be gone.

 

“Alexander.” Magnus asked on a serious tone and Alec opened his eyes, facing a worried Magnus. He knew the time had come to tell the truth.”

 

“What happened to you?” Magnus asked, reaching to touch Alec’s cheek softly.

 

“That night,” Alec began. “when we promised to each other we’d never let anything separate us, and you gave me that ring, symbol of so many things that I have no idea if your heart is still loyal to me or not.” Alec didn’t gave Magnus the chance to answer and continued. “When I came back to my father’s room, I- There was a guard behind him, slicing his throat open, while I was standing there, in the doorway.” 

 

Alec stopped briefly but when he saw Magnus was expecting more, he continued his tale.

 

“Hodge came just in time to kill the guard before taking me, alongside with Jace, Isabelle and Max. He led us into the woods, bringing us to a small village where we stayed for more than four years before we started being out-laws.”

 

“Why, after so many years, did you chose to become a renegade?” Magnus asked with incomprehension. 

 

Alec inhaled. 

 

“Hodge died. Killed by Morgenstern during a mission.” He simply answered. “For years, we only pretended being dead so Asmodeus wouldn’t send anyone after us. We’re Lightwoods, we’ve been chosen to rule over the Kingdoms if something was to happen to the king. With us being dead, you’re father is the only person who can claim the throne.” 

 

“That’s why you never answered my letters.” Magnus sighed, running a hand so he could touch the tip of Alec’s fingers. Alec was surprised, but he gave a slight touch as well. “You never contacted me.”

 

“I never answered because I never got the chance to read any of them.” Alec gulped because he knew he was about to tell Magnus the things he had always wanted to say to him if they ever met again. “I never contacted you because I couldn’t. I didn’t knew what Asmodeus had told you, maybe I was dead to you, maybe- Magnus I didn’t knew how to tell you I was still there, that the Alexander Lightwood you knew was still alive, but he’s not. He’s dead, he died long ago with his father. He died when I chose the path I took. He’s not here anymore.”

 

Magnus shushed him by placing a finger in front of Alec’s mouth.

 

“He’s here. You are here. And you were there.” Magnus said, taking Alec’s hand and placing it on his heart. “You had always been there and you will always be.” 

 

Magnus smiled, leaning closer to Alec so he could drop a light kiss on his forehead, just like he used to do when they were just kids, and Alec smiled as well, closing his eyes once again, holding the tears and the anger inside of him. 

 

“I am here, Alexander.” Magnus said, touching Alec’s cheek so he wouldn’t doubt again about Magnus being here or only being a dream. “I missed you.” 

 

“I missed you too.” Alec whispered, before they both fell asleep, holding each other hands.


End file.
